How Works Create Their Authors

The “Saviors” Kickstarter Is Here…And I Need Your Help!

A few hours ago the kickstarter for my novel Saviorswas launched and, as of now, it has raised $320. As someone who is thrilled when I have enough money to spend on a paperback book, I’m frankly astonished. And if the novel actually reaches the $1,500 goal, I’ll probably faint. Beyond that, serious medical attention might be required.

I’ve recently read a number of great books, including Suite Francaice, Fire in the Blood, Jezebel, The Night Circus, Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe, and Prelude to Foundation (all of which I highly recommend), so I am hoping to write at least two (possibly three) posts on them in the coming week. But for now, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for reading my blog and supporting my writing. And, of course, I wanted to talk about Saviors.

I’ll be blunt: I have wanted to publish novels for as long as I’ve been able to think. Childhood friends might remember me orally telling (and performing) fantasy adventures, high school classmates might recall the first novels I wrote, and those who have known me over the last year might recall evenings when I refused to go out because I needed to work on a chapter. Or maybe you’ve seen one of my youtube videos or just “met” me through this blog. Regardless, writing means more to me than anything and all I want is to share my stories with others. That’s why I’m eager to use kickstarter rather than go through a more traditional route. My hope is that, through kickstarter and social media in general, I can reach people like you who are truly interested in my work. To paraphrase Joss Whedon, I’d rather have a thousand people who really loved my stories (and with whom I could interact with and help whenever and however I could) than a million fans on facebook who were only mildly interested in anything I produced.

I want this kickstarter to be the start of something big. If Saviors is successful enough, I will undoubtedly use kickstarter again to fund the next novel (which I’ve already started working on – it’s tentatively titled Dust Covered Dreams) and I’m also considering finishing up work on a graphic novel. But beyond any specific projects, I want to really get to know my readers and help them out. Whether I can help by reading material or in some other way, I am just excited at the prospect of really engaging with a larger community.

That’s all I can really say for now – check out my previous blog post for more info on the novel or just watch the video on the kickstarter page. I’ve provided the links below.

I am genuinely excited for the release of your book! I don’t want to ruin any surprises that are in the plot, but I was wondering if you were going to go in-depth into the mind of Tobias and as to why he kills. I will probably have to wait for the book to come out, his character and way I think he will fit the plot is the reason I am so interested in this. I am an avid reader on serial killers and find them interesting. Although I know this is a fictional, I still can’t wait to find out how he deals with whatever his problems are and how he and Emily learn from each other!

Don’t worry – I won’t give you any spoilers. But I can nevertheless answer your question.

I’ll definitely be going into why Tobias kills and, as for going into his mind, roughly half the chapters are limited third person from his perspective (the rest are from Emily’s). I may release the first chapter on the kickstarter in the near future, and by the end you’ll have a good sense as to his general motives. And by around the half-way point, you’ll know precisely how he came to be the way he is (which in large part is due to his mother and a cult she belonged to).

I’ll stop myself there but I hope that answers your question. I’m thrilled that you’re excited for the book’s release and the kickstarter is already a little bit past one-third of the goal amount!

While writing “Saviors” I researched a number of serial killers (in addition to reading some fascinating – and disturbing – books on cults). One of the biggest influences, however, was Jeffrey Dahmer. There’s a documentary on youtube that shows how, shortly after doing some horrific things to someone, he’s able to have a perfectly casual conversation with his father.

I highly recommend “Helter Skelter” (though I’m assuming you’ve already read that) and I’ll see if I can dig up any more suggestions.

Yes! That answers my question enough without ruining the surprises, thank you. I saw that on kick starter and I’m happy that it had gotten that far! As weird as it may sound, Jeffery Dahmer was my favorite serial killer to read about and I still enjoy learning more about him. I’ve seen that documentary and many others on him so to hear that he was an influence in this book is exciting, I can’t wait for it to come out!
Yes, I have read “Helter Skelter” and seen the movie while reading other articles on Charles Manson. He, Jeffery Dahmer, and Ed Gein were the most interesting to learn about if you ask me. Ted Bundy can be thrown into that too. I’d like to hear who you dig up, I’m always open to learning about more people who can seem sane and commit terrible crimes like these men.
I recommend the docudrama on Jeffery Dahmer that was produced to show what he did towards the end of his life as a killer (although not completely accurate). It’s titled “Dahmer” and Jeremy Renner pays Jeffery, although I suspect that you might have already looked it up.